Wild dogs & roving arguments
Fighting Other’s Battles
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Like one who grabs a wild dog by the ears,
so is the person passing by who becomes furious over a quarrel not his own.
Proverbs 26:17 (NET)
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I see this happen most often on social media.
Especially in the fields of politics.
People looking for a reason to get riled up about fights that have nothing to do with them.
Seriously, what can you or I contribute to most of those arguments?
Oh sure, we can pick a side, throw in our two cents, and root for our team.
We can jeer the opponents and cause a ruckus.
But there are very few cases where we could actually do something productive to solve the issue being argued about.
If that’s the case, then why jump into the argument at all?
That’s the question the proverb poses.
It’s a warning against allowing ourselves to get angry over arguments that we have no business even participating in.
It’s blatantly absurd to grab a wild dog by the ears -- you’re almost certain to get bit.
Yet we’ll jump into a wild argument without considering the consequences.
The better plan?
Leave the wild dogs alone, let them roam on by.
It’s certainly a lower stress life. Although it may require spending less time on social media … or watching the news … or avoiding those people you know who engage in those kinds of arguments.
Those could be hard habits, or relationships, to break.
What’s peace of mind worth to you?
— Ricky Ketchum
Copyright © 2026 by Ricky Ketchum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
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